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Our Sailaway

Entries in this blog

New Blog Link

We are now on the water and really enjoying our new lifestyle. I have started a new blog on the following:-   http://wibblestravels.blogspot.com/
Ratsonline

Ratsonline

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Launching

Well you have probably worked out that the boat launch did not happen at the end of June/early July as hoped. Well now for the news. Our intention was to put the boat on the Kennet and Avon canal and then travel to the Inland Waterways festival (about 3 weeks travel time). Well in order to do this it meant we needed to launch the boat sooner rather than later. To this end we obtained two launch dates and the only one that would have let us do this was the 4th August. Well after much deliber
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Nearly There

It is now April and the canals are looking even more inviting, we popped into Braunston on our way home from Pauls mum on Easter Monday and sat by the canal outside the Admiral Nelson (Grand Union) watching the boats in the lock (swearing at them because it was not us), the sun was shining and all the boaters and walkers looked very happy and content.   The boat is coming along but there still seems to be loads to do, Paul is now making a mental list of all the smaller jobs that are needed (wh
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A New Year

Well it is now 2009 and the year of our launch. We have still not decided on a date but are keeping our fingers crossed for late March mid April. It will be nice to get on the canals for Spring.   We have picked up the settee from Elite Furnishings and are very pleased with it, the trip from Bournemouth to Tamworth was uneventful but unfortunately after that it went down hill for a while. Part of the reason for going to Tamworth to pick the settee up was because Paul wanted to go to a Chand
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Another ? month goes by

Well somehow it is November, I’m sure I must have gone into hibernation or something because I just don’t know where the time has gone.   Everything is progressing with the fit out and looking really amazing. The saloon and the galley are done apart from the side door linings, the main front door (Paul has purchased a big chunk of Oak for these) and the galley worktop (Paul is still using it as a worktop). More wood was purchased for the trims and cupboards and Paul is saying we still need m
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Another month flys by

Well it is now September and progress is slow but sure.   All the cupboard doors are now made and fixed in the kitchen and looking fantastic. The magic corner is in as well as a couple of other pull out baskets and the sliding waste bin. The only things left for the kitchen is the glass in the top cupboards, a couple of shelves and the worktop, it all sounds very easy and from my point of view it is as I am not the one doing all the work but when Paul comes in frustrated and tired I do ten
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Another Month

Well another month has flown by since my last update.   More progress has been made and the boat is really starting to take shape, Paul has built and fixed in the kitchen carcasses and is now fixing the trims on the fronts, next are the cupboard doors, it all sound so simple when you write it like this but the amount of work that goes into the preparation of the wood and the fixing etc. is enormous.   Whilst I was away sunning myself in Turkey, sitting by the pool with a cold lager Paul was
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Getting There

Well I think progress is coming along nicely although Paul feels that it should be further along. The problem (some might say) is that Paul is a bit of a perfectionist so everything takes 3 times longer for him than it would if someone else was doing it. Personally I don’t see that this is a problem because everything he does is always well thought out and looks great.   The ceiling is in place and has now been varnished and the lights have been fitted. All the side panels and the tongue an
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Progress

Well it has been a while since my last update; once again I cannot work out where all the time goes.   Due to the fact that people do not seem to understand what retired means and Pauls nature being what it is, he finds it hard to say NO most of the time, he hasn’t spent as much time as he would have liked doing the boat. Despite this he has put the wiring in, fixed the tongue and groove to the ceiling (which looks amazing), fixed the bottom panels and has now started on the top panels - some
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Update

Once again it has been a while since updating this blog, I just don’t know where the time goes.   Well Things are beginning to take shape, slowly admittedly but with family commitments and one thing and another time just seems to disappear. Paul has been visiting wood suppliers to source the panels and tongue and groove (which we are having milled as we have decided on a different profile than the normal one). After much thought we have settled on European oak and the panels have now arriv
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Progress

Just a quick update to let you know that we are still here as it has been a few weeks since my latest entry.   Apart from the small detail of having a narrowboat in it, the garden actually does look a bit like a garden now that most of the rubble has gone and has been tidied. The side and front wall are now all in place and Paul has even put a roof on to cover the area from the house to the back of the neighbours garden. This has given him a nice big area out of the weather to do work.   T
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On the Move

On the Move   Paul has been working really hard over the holidays to get the area where the boat is going to sit for the next 6 months finished. All the footings, jacking points and sleepers are now in place. The Turfor winch has been serviced and a friend has supplied the post that is going to act as an anchor point for the winching process. Paul has also tidied up the garden side of what is now the boat yard and is in the process of tidying up the other side – all the rubble from the shed
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It Has Arrived

Well it’s in; we now have a 59ft narrow boat in the garden.   7.30am - The day started after about 4 hours of sleep. Paul still had to sort out the electrics to the workshop so that the outside camera would be working and I put the kettle on for coffee and put the sausages in the oven.   8am - The crane arrived (it was enormous 100 ton) and they started setting the pads up whilst having coffee and bacon and egg rolls. At this stage Paul kept wandering up and down checking the sleepers and
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10 Hours to Go

Its been a very busy weekend for Paul, with the front wall down (Friday & Saturday) it left the side wall for Sunday, many thanks go to a friend who popped round to say hello and ended up being a labourer for the day, Paul would still be knocking it down now otherwise. It’s amazing how a 10ft x 8ft brick wall can create such a large amount of debris; the wall was built by the council in 1952 and was definitely built to last because every brick had to be chiselled out. I got the boat insura
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1 week to 'D' Day

Well we went to St. Ives in Cornwall as planned, we had plenty of food and drink and a good time was had, the weather was very windy at times and cold but it made the view of the sea very dramatic. All to soon Monday morning arrived with the long trip to Widnes to see the boat for the last time before delivery. We left after breakfast at about 9.30am stopped at the chandlers where we picked up the log burner and bits and pieces, got petrol and arrived at the boat yard at 4.30pm. (We got home a
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2 weeks to 'D' Day

Well in two weeks time we should have a 59ft narrow boat in the garden. Scary!   Paul has been really busy in the last week, trying to get everything ready for the big day. The sheds have now been demolished which has produced a very large pile of bricks in the back garden and we have another pile of wood for a bonfire. The side of the house looks very strange now; the area is very uneven so Paul has decided to lay concrete to level this area to make moving the boat easier. The sleepers and
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Progress

Well the garden has now been marked out for the position of the boat and Paul has started work on preparing the ground – the weather is not helping with this as there is quite a bit of earth moving required to provide a level area. The sheds are currently being emptied and the contents either being stored elsewhere or disposed off as they need to be knocked down to make room for the boat. A friend of ours has very kindly provided some no parking signs that we can you use for the road closure –
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A new adventure

After reading some of the blogs, I thought it would be a good idea to start and a bit of fun to start my own blog.   So introductions first, I am Karen (Ratsonline) and my partners name is Paul (Spoons) and we currently live in a house – but hopefully not for much longer, the plan is to be on the water for the end of June 2008.   After many years of camping, mainly in Cornwall we took our first narrowboat holiday in 2006 on the Kennett and Avon and fell in love, the idea was born to get our
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